In my bumbling quest to get some at least some shit done, here are three posts worth of recent hardcore punk standouts rolled into one. First there are five bursts of rather quirky, unconventional noisemaking courtesey of Chicago's Deodorant, who had already released a fun little album via Not Normal Tapes in 2018. On their newest EP, they cover a lot of ground ranging from oldschool hard-/postcore weirdos like Saccharine Trust, Beefeater, Really Red or early Minutemen, to more recent groups á la Optic Nerve and Mystic Inane, rounded out by a few subtle cowpunk vibes like in King Samo. If all of that shit's way to smartypants artsy for that tiny brain of yours to handle, you might prefer the way more straightforward ruckus of slightly garage-infused no-frills oldschool mayhem as presented by Dye of Kansas City. But then again, in case that sounds like way too much fun and you prefer a bit more death, despair and insanity in your punk rock, we've got you covered too in the form of Dallas group Urn's latest EP whose relentless attack comes off about as dark and muddy as a pot of stale burnt coffee… disgusting and vitalizing at the same same time.
Following their 2018 album Hunk, which somehow didn't really click with me, the Reno, Nevada group's newest EP manages to hit all the right spots this time while never repeating itself, covering a sonic range spanning from oldschool AmRep- and Touch & Go-style noise rock, hardcore punk reminiscent of early Die Kreuzen and in its closing track, some Drive Like Jehu-esque Postcore.
Antibodies' third "long"-player presents the group from Charlottestown, Canada as fresh and lovable as ever, delivering yet another brief oldschool burst of slightly noise-infested, fun and somewhat quirky hardcore punk that doesn't overstay its welcome and knows how to keep things interesting throughout.
In case you like your hardcore punk wild, catchy and innocent like it's 1981 on the US west coast… there's your new jam as it won't get much more 1981 than this Toronto group's debut EP. These five ridiculously appealing tunes don't sound anachronistic in the slightest though. Rather, with their timeless garage and KBD vibes, they fit in just as well with contemporary groups á la Launcher, Freakees, Liquid Assets or Cement Shoes.
The Seattle group has been around for quite some time now and accordingly at this point, their ultra-oldschool garage punk sound heavily indebted to MC5 and Stooges feels as worn-in and mature as it gets. Their speeds occasionally reach into hardcore territory now, but that's pretty much the only major change since their 2015 Demo. All of this would be a recipe for utter boredom in the hands of a less capable band but as always, Lysol easily hammer that shit home by virtue of sheer force.
Pretty awesome noisecore shit is flushing out the ear canals on this debut EP by a group with members strewn all across Berlin, Leipzig and Bonn. This certainly has some touches of Acrylics, Vulture Shit, Soupcans and Stinkhole… or maybe of an alternate universe incarnation of No Trend, Flipper and Broken Talent played at triple speed.
Berlin group Skeleton Glove have already put out a bunch of demos, all of which suffered to a varying extent from their Lo-Fi production values, so it's nice to finally hear them in a sound that does their sheer sonic force justice. The result is every bit as good as i could've hoped for, their ultra-primal brand of post- and hardcore punk with flourishes of death rock and garage never failing to hit where it hurts the most.
Gotta tell you about this Super Cheap EP i got super cheap from Painters Tapes! It's a weird little lump of blown-out noise - it's fast and wild, it's pleasantly short. Kinda like a mix between Soupcans, Lumpy and the Dumpers, Stinkhole and Connie Voltaire's more hardcore-centric projects.
Having released four EPs on Neon Taste so far, Vancouver's Bootlicker have hit the bull's eye every single time, so why change anything now? They haven't. Accordingly, on their first longplayer, their brand of no-frills oldschool hardcore attack once more manages to be mostly unsurprising yet perfectly gripping from start to finish.
It appears this Austin, Texas group's second full-length has already been slowly rotting away on their bandcamp page largely unnoticed for a while now. This has to change fast. The album starts out somewhat akin to the melodic Lo-Fi garage punk and power pop of Vaguess or Booji Boys, then cycles through various iterations of a slightly KBD-esque garage-, and hardcore-leaning sound not entirely unlike recent acts in the Launcher, Liquid Assets, Fried Egg or Freakees vein, with the occasional subtle Gun Club vibe. Also, there's a beautifully shambolic cover version of Minutemen's Corona that manages to not suck in the slightest. Now all of you go make these dudes filthy rich and famous!
